Documentary
Resident Orca tells the unfolding story of a captive whale’s fight for survival and freedom. After decades of failed attempts to bring her home, an unlikely partnership between Indigenous matriarchs, a billionaire philanthropist, killer whale experts, and the aquarium’s new owner take on the impossible task of freeing Lolita, captured 53 years ago as a baby, only to spend the rest of her life performing in the smallest killer whale tank in North America. When Lolita falls ill under troubling circumstances, her advocates are faced with a painful question: is it too late to save her?
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
Heartbeat of a Nation
No Loitering
Wood Mountain Poems
Our People Will Be Healed
Ocean Giants
Still We Rise
LaDonna Harris: Indian 101
Ningwasum
Button Blanket
Monica in the South Seas
Nowhere Land
Attiuk
Tokyo Ainu
Tawai: A Voice from the Forest
Inside the Tanks
Kainai
Spears from All Sides
Cholitas
Lii Michif Niiyanaan: We Are Métis
The Other James Taylor
SIMILAR MOVIES
Heartbeat of a Nation
IMDB 0 | Sep , 2022
A short documentary that celebrates Dene cultural reclamation and revitalization, in which a father passes on traditional knowledge to his child through the teachings of a caribou drum.No Loitering
IMDB 0 | Mar , 2002
An intimate portrait of teenagers trying to understand their world and their possibilities. The film weaves together video shot by teens and by the filmmaker, as they work together to make a film and create expressive outlets for youth in the community. They organize dances and community events and paint a mural. At the same time, with humor and pathos, these young people raise issues around violence, feeling misunderstood by adults and lacking respect in their community. Set in the small town of Sitka, Alaska, home to a large Alaska Native population, the video chronicles their creativity, concerns and dreams.Wood Mountain Poems
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1978
In this short documentary, Canadian poet Andrew Suknaski introduces us to Wood Mountain, the south central Saskatchewan village he calls home. In between musings on his poetry, which is tinged with nostalgia and the vast loneliness of the plains, the poet discusses the area’s multicultural background and Native heritage, as well as the customs and stories of these various ethnic groups.Our People Will Be Healed
IMDB 5.7 | Sep , 2017
Legendary documentary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin provides a glimpse of what action-driven decolonization looks like in Norway House, one of Manitoba's largest First Nation communities.Ocean Giants
IMDB 8 | Aug , 2011
A 3-part documentary granting a unique and privileged access into the magical world of whales and dolphins, uncovering the secrets of their intimate lives as never before. Episode 1: Giant Lives / Episode 2: Deep Thinkers / Episode 3: Voices of the SeaStill We Rise
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2022
50 years on, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is the oldest continuing protest occupation site in the world. Taking a fresh lens this is a bold dive into a year of protest and revolutionary change for First Nations people.LaDonna Harris: Indian 101
IMDB 1 | Mar , 2014
A documentary film about Comanche activist LaDonna Harris, who led an extensive life of Native political and social activism, and is now passing on her traditional cultural and leadership values to a new generation of emerging Indigenous leaders.Ningwasum
IMDB 0 | Feb , 2022
Ningwasum follows two time travellers Miksam and Mingsoma, played by Subin Limbu and Shanta Nepali respectively, in the Himalayas weaving indigenous folk stories, culture, climate change and science fiction.Button Blanket
IMDB 0 | Oct , 2009
This short impressionist documentary looks at the creation of a Button Blanket by integrating the performance of a traditional dance with the art of the West Coast Heiltsuk Nation.Monica in the South Seas
IMDB 0 | Nov , 2023
Finnish filmmaker and artist Sami van Ingen is a great-grandson of documentary pioneer Robert Flaherty, and seemingly the sole member of the family with a hands-on interest in continuing the directing legacy. Among the materials he found in the estate of Robert and Frances Flaherty’s daughter Monica were the film reels and video tapes detailing several years of work on realising her lifelong dream project: a sound version of her parents’ 1926 docu-fiction axiom, Moana: A Romance of the Golden Age.Nowhere Land
IMDB 0 | Oct , 2015
Documentary about filmmaker Bonnie Ammaaq's memories of life on Baffin Island, where her family moved for eleven years during her childhood from the hamlet of Igloolik to return to the traditional Inuit way of life.Attiuk
IMDB 0 | Jul , 1963
The people of Unamenshipu (La Romaine), an Innu community in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, are seen but not heard in this richly detailed documentary about the rituals surrounding an Innu caribou hunt. Released in 1960, it’s one of 13 titles in Au Pays de Neufve-France, a series of poetic documentary shorts about life along the St. Lawrence River. Off-camera narration, written by Pierre Perrault, frames the Innu participants through an ethnographic lens. Co-directed by René Bonnière and Perrault, a founding figure of Quebec’s direct cinema movement.Tokyo Ainu
IMDB 0 | May , 2013
TOKYO Ainu features the Ainu, an indigenous people of Japan, living in Greater Tokyo (Tokyo and its surrounding areas), who are and actively in promoting their traditional culture in a metropolitan environment away from their traditional homeland, Hokkaido. Shedding a common assumption that all Ainu live in Hokkaido, the film captures the feelings, thoughts and aspirations of Ainu people that who try to follow the Ainu way no matter where they live.Tawai: A Voice from the Forest
IMDB 6.2 | Sep , 2017
Explorer Bruce Parry visits nomadic tribes in Borneo and the Amazon in hope to better understand humanity's changing relationship with the world around us.Inside the Tanks
IMDB 0 | Jun , 2017
Unique in its approach, Inside The Tanks is a documentary that aims to enrich the discussion surrounding marine mammal captivity. Join Presenter and Producer, Jonny Meah, as he blasts the debate wide open, giving BOTH sides of the discussion a chance to have their say. The documentary includes in depth interviews from The Born Free Foundation; Marine Biologist, Ingrid Visser; Ex-Supervisor and ex-trainer, John Hargrove; and in a world exclusive on the topic, an interview with The Zoological Director of Marineland Antibes, Jon Kershaw.Kainai
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1973
On the Kainai (Blood) First Nations Reserve, near Cardston, Alberta, a hopeful new development in Indigenous enterprise. Once rulers of the western plains, the Bloods live on a 1 300-square-kilometer reserve. Many have lacked gainful employment and now pin their hopes on a pre-fab factory they have built. Will the production line and work and wages fit into their cultural pattern of life? The film shows how it is working and what the owners themselves say about their venture.Spears from All Sides
IMDB 0 | Jun , 2019
Until the 1950s, the Waorani were able to successfully defended their area of settlement – today’s Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon – with the aid of spears. Then Christian missionaries entered the thick rain forest and paved the way for an oil company. Nowadays many of the tribes are estranged as some want to benefit from the short-term money the company is offering while others fight to preserve their land, culture and independence under all circumstances.Cholitas
IMDB 7 | Jan , 2020
Five Bolivian indigenous women share one goal: climbing the highest mountain in America.Lii Michif Niiyanaan: We Are Métis
IMDB 0 | Nov , 2023
Lii Michif Niiyanaan: We Are Métis is a documentary that addresses the invisibility of the Metis by shining a new light on the historical and contemporary experience of Métis people in Canada and providing a space for Métis people to share their diverse perspectives on what it means to be Métis today.The Other James Taylor
IMDB 0 | Feb , 2026
James Taylor prepares for his first show of the season on a remote island in the San Juans.